Cognitive Dissonance Slams Stock Prices After Election

Apparent contradictions bedevil the equity market, sending the Dow down 300 points, with no easy answers at hand.

True to form, the stock market predicted President Obama's reelection. So why was it shocked when its forecast proved accurate?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 313 points, or some 2.4%, through the 13,000 level for the first time since early August following the U.S. election results Wednesday. Similarly, rabid Republicans, who asserted the inevitability of challenger Mitt Romney's triumph, were shocked when they were proved...